 - A passive optical network (PON) is a system that brings optical fiber cabling and signals all or most of the way to the end user. Depending on where the PON terminates, the system can be described as fiber-to-the-curb (FTTC), fiber-to-the-building (FTTB), or fiber-to-the-home (FTTH). A PON consists of an Optical Line Termination (OLT) at the communication company's office and a number of Optical Network Units (ONUs) near end users. Typically, up to 32 ONUs can be connected to an OLT. The passive simply describes the fact that optical transmission has no power requirements or active electronic parts once the signal is going through the network.
In a stand-alone system, a PON could deliver up to 622 Mbps downstream to the user and up to 155 Mbps upstream. Multiple users of a PON could be allocated portions of this bandwidth. A PON could also serve as a trunk between a larger system, such as a CATV system, and a neighborhood, building, or home Ethernet network on coaxial cable.
In Japan, Nippon Telephone and Telegraph (NTT) is planning to install passive optical networks throughout its system, using equipment made by Lucent Technologies.
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31 Jul 2007
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